Drawing With Roots Workshop

Carve, plant and grow your own root-formed image in this workshop exploring regenerative approaches to graphic design.

Workshop Description

This workshop introduces the idea of creating root imagery. Participants will carve beeswax moulds designed to guide the movement of roots and create their own root patterns using grass seedlings. The session focuses on how images can form through care and cultivation rather than direct mark-making.

Through hands-on making, you will plant your seeds within the carved mould and consider how growth, watering and time shape the final outcome. As the roots develop, they will gradually take the form of the mould, producing a living image that continues to evolve beyond the workshop.

You will learn:

• How to create wax moulds
• How to plant and position grass seeds within your design
• How care and maintenance become part of the design process
  

You will take home:

• Your planted beeswax mould with grass seeds
• An instruction leaflet explaining how to water and care for your plant
• A living graphic that will continue to develop over time

Meet your instructor

Charlie Butterfield is a London-based regenerative graphic designer working across material research and communication design. Her practice investigates how graphic workflows can shift from extractive production models toward circular and regenerative systems.

Working with root systems, biomaterials and site-based research, she tests how growth, time and environmental conditions can generate visual form. Her focus extends beyond material choice to the structure of design processes, asking how care, maintenance and long-term responsibility can be embedded into graphic practice.

Her work has been exhibited at Lethaby Gallery and developed through research in London and the British Virgin Islands. Through publications, material experimentation and collaborative projects, Charlie positions regenerative graphic design as a method for restructuring how communication is produced and sustained.

@charliebee.cosmology

Extra Info

Accessibility Statement:

Lifefabs Institute is committed to ensuring that our events and workshops are as accessible as possible and meet the ever-changing needs of our community. As we navigate the opportunities and challenges of our workshops, we are constantly learning and adjusting our workflows to prioritise accessibility.

We’d love to hear any feedback our community might have.

Please contact us at info@lifefabs.bio if you have any specific accessibility requirements or questions.

Seating:

Seating is usually unreserved for our events. If you and your group require seating reservations, please do let us know by emailing us at info@lifefabs.bio and we'd be more than happy to help.

Carers can receive a free ticket to an event by emailing info@lifefabs.bio

Support to Attend Our Events & Workshops

Lifefabs Institute may be able to offer financial assistance to enable adults or children to participate in our events and activities if this would otherwise be financially difficult.

Please contact our team: info@lifefabs.bio and we will aim to agree a reduction or bursary or wavier your fee free of charge.